
/.•.«^.>o .**\c:^/*-e, /.iSs^^*°o >^ 


















^<i^' 























A.^*^ 

-j:^ -^^ 








^^^% 



-^^rv^ 







• • • ^ ""t^ 





.*' *!tf?4a9^* 



«& 









^''^^ 












"^^c,^ 

.^^% 



%<^' 
^^%. 






•"^^o /.^ii^/*^. o°^^^^% ./V>;^'\. 






4 V »7-. 





%/ -'^ 



















>v v*^*/ v^y %-^^;/. 
' .';^c^"« \/ =«-. %/ -^^ '"--^^^ ii 














.^^% 













Itinltfe 



CONTEMPORANEOUS RULERS. 





P 






^v^^^ 



PITTSBURGH : L^^/^ 

IJudli^fietl du Ik f ill$liiui0f! ^oof\ and ^sjjttt$ 4^nt|mt|2, 



PRICE 25 CENTS. 




^ 




ESTABLISHED ISOo. 



FIRST PREMIUM STEAM 

BOILERS. 

TRADESMENS INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE, 

FIRST EXPOSITION, 
Held at ^ittshihrgJi, S^cc, October, IS ^5. 

AWARDED TO R. MUNROE, AS FOLLOWS: 

1 Silver Medal, for best Boiler. 

1 Silver Medal, for best variety of Boilers, 

Diploma, for best Tubular Boiler and Fixtures. 

Diploma, for best Tubular Upright Boiler and Fixtures. \ 

Diploma, for best Locomotive or Portable Boiler and Fixture!. 



STILLS, T&MKS & SHIET I 



UF AI-L DESCRIPTIONS, MADE TO OKDER ON SIIURT NOTICE. 

Have on hand a lafge Stock of Hew and Good Second-Hand Boilers, 

REPAIRING DONE PROMPTLY. 



1. IIIIOI, Sie@§§s( 



EIGHTEEN 



PRESIDENTS. 



m 



^mimpmtml mkt 



By W. A. TAYLOR. 



J.J-1 V w- - Y 



PITTSBUE^GH \ 

PRINTED BY BARK & MYERS, CORNER WOOD STREET AND VIRGIN ALLEY. 

1876. 



EIGHTEEN PRESIDENTS 



CONTEMPORANEOUS RULERS. 



I. 

As we are now entering upon the celebration of the one linn- 
dredth anniversary of our Independence Day, which will occur on 
the Fourth of July, 1876, a brief review of our past history, as 
regards those who have ruled us during the century cannot but be 
appropriate. 

Thirteen years after the date of our '■ Declaration," having 
established a Constitution, whicli superseded our Articles of Con- 
federation, — whicli thougli not " without form " were very nearly 
"void," as lar as their injunctions and requisitions on tlie States 
were regarded, — thirteen years after the " Declaration," our first 
President was inaugurated. As the present incumbent will be 
President until tlie 4th of March, 1877, and continue in office dur- 
ing the Centennial period, it is proposed to briefly sketcli each of 
our eighteen Chief Magistrates, who tiiey were, how tliey were 
" armed and equipped " for their great offices, and liow each ob- 
tained his distinguished lionors; with brief reference, by way of 
parallel, to the contemporaneous rulers of the leading powers of 
Europe. ^ 

It would seem that the hereditary rulers of tlie Old World, 
about the time we had, through eight years of suffering and sacri- 
fice, and the life-blood of thousands of brave men, secured the right 
to select our own rulers, were worse than the average of those wlio 
claim to rule bv divine right. 



In a letter written in 1810, Mr. Jetferson, wlio was in Paris dnr- 
ing the French Revolntion, and whose active and comprehensive 
mind was able to take in the mo^t complete view of the sitnation, 
when the thrones beaan to totter, thus sketches the reioniiijT gov- 
ereigns of Europe when the agitation in France began : 

" I often amused mj^self witli contemplating tlie characters of the 
then reigning sovereigns of Europe. Louis XVI. was a fool of my 
own knowledge, and despite the answers made for him at his trial. 
The King of Spain was a fool, and of Naples the same. The3' 
passed their lives in hunting, and dispatched two couriers a week 
one thousand miles, to let each other know what game they had 
killed the preceding days. The King of Sardinia was a fool. All 
these were Bourbons. The Queen of Portugal, a Braganza, was an 
idiot Ity nature. And so was the King of Denmark. Their sons, 
as Regents, exercised the powers of government. The King of 
Prussia, son of the Great Frederick, was a mere hog in l)ody as 
well as in mind, Gustavus, of Sweden, and Joseph of Austria, 
were really crazy, and George of England, you know, was in a 
straight waistcoat. [His son was made Regent after tliis was writ- 
ten.] There remained, then, none but old Catharine (of Russia,) 
who had been too latelj^ picked up to have lost her common sense. 
In this state Bonaparte found Europe, and it was this state of its 
rulers that lost it with scarcely a struggle." 

The catalogue was no doubt trutlifully given, and we must a<l- 
mit that the list on which old "Catharine" stands at the head, 
could not be very remarkable for either good morals, talents or ed- 
ucation. But for the present we shall consider our own rulers. 

I. 1789-1791. With George Washington for our first President 
we began our new experiment in the manner of choosing rulers, 
taking the surest possible mode^ as all the world then thought, 
of selecting the " fittest." 

That Washington was the best fitted man tlien living for the 
place to whicli he was called, there are none now so captious as to 
dispute. Those who questioned whether he did the best that could 
be done, either as Commander-in-Chief, or as President, were silenc- 
ed and borne down by the grandeur, dignity and severe justice of 
his character and the great results of his administration, and the 
bitter things men said of him, when remembered at all, are regret- 
ted and forgiven. If ever a man tried to be impartial, and act 
without passion and partizanship in public affairs, that man was 
George Washington. He certainly was a measureless height 



above any (/Iiief Magistrate or Ruler of any other country eon- 
temporary with liim. Tliere is no doubt tliat lie was a Federalist 
in polities — that he believed that the preponderance of power 
should be in the Central Government — but he had presided over 
the Convention which framed the Constitution, — he knew the feel- 
ings, purposes and desires of the members, and, while he feared 
that our plan of government was, perhaps, an exi)eriment that 
would fail, he would have given, as he said in calm determination, 
his " last drop of blood " to ensure it a fair trial. 

His personal dignity ; his laborious and attentive official habits ; 
his severe economy in the expenditure of the public moneys ; his 
detestation of favoritism and nepotism ; his contempt for those 
who " crooked the pregnant hinges of the knee that thrift might 
follow fawning," all marked him as possessing the qualities needed 
for the first President of the United States, in the then peculiar con- 
dition of their internal policy, of their Treasury and of their rela- 
tions to the world at large ; and eminently the man to set a fitting 
and commanding example to all his successors so long as the 
Republic shall continue to exist. 

II. 1797-1801. John Adams was inaugurated in 1797. Other 
men, perhaps, did as much as he to light the revolutionary flame 
and feed it with the substantial fuel of solid and profound and pol- 
ished argument, but none labored more constantly and eifectively. 
He was a scholar, a statesman and an orator of the first attain- 
ments. 

Whether painful experience of the loose, ill-settled and worse ob- 
served sanctions of the Articles of Confederation, or from a limited 
confidence in the capacity of man for self-government, or from 
both these causes combined, he honestly believed that the Federal 
power should i)redominate over State in almost everj-thing, and he 
spared no pains, while he was President, to make the strong hand 
of the central government felt everyvvhere. 

His interpretation of the Presidential duty was rejected by the 
people, and if he made the Federal power to be feared during his 
term, he also provoked toward it general resistance and detesta- 
tion. But apart from the tendency to encourage the perhaps too 
rapid acquisition of a national naval armament, his administration 
was not extravagant. And wiiile he yielded less to the popular 
demand for power than Jeflerson, he never looked upon the people 
as proper subjects for pecuninry speculation and spoliation. 



Hu went down because his theory of administering the govern- 
ment was not popular, — his administration was certainly vigorous, 
— and believing that the British Constitution was the best form of 
government ever devised by the wit of man, — and preferring the 
British nation to his own, his partiality to that country, its peo- 
ple and its government, was so marked as to call forth much censui'e 
upon Mr. Adams and his administration. 

III. 1801-1809. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson came into power 
after a severe contest, in which, owing to the machinations of the 
bad and brilliant Aaron Burr, he succeeded by o??e vote only, 
although but for Burr's defection, he would have had a decided ma- 
jority. He )"epresented those who claimed that the preponderance 
of power should be retained by the States and the State govern- 
ments, in preference to centralizing it at the Federal metropolis. 
That the people would have a more strict accountability from their 
agents, the closer those agents were to those whom they served. 
That nothing should be done by the Federal authority that could 
be done by the people in townships, cities or States 

Mr. Jefferson had given the entire labor of his life, and of his 
great abilities to the popular " home rule " side of this then novel 
theory of government. Although bred to the law, he was more of 
a statesman, thinker and writer, tlian liis predecessor, Mr. Adams, 
whose great force lay in his eloquence and lesal learning. Besides 
the famous '•' Peclaration of Independence," his contributions, the 
statute books and Constitutions, both in his own State and in the 
United States, are rich in legacies of his learning, and his pro- 
found and ingenious intellect. 

He was a man of varied and extraordinary acquirements, — his 
forecast was wonderfid, — and whoever has read his predictions 
as to certain measures of government, and particularly as to the 
result of African slavery in this country, Avill be struck witli won- 
der at his prophetic wisdom. 

lY. 1809 — 1817. By his studies and experiences James Madi- 
son was eminently qualified for the Presidential office. He was, 
perhaps, the most attentive, laborious and pains-taking member of 
tlie Convention which framed the Constitution, and he well deserves 
the title of " Father of the Constitution." The only reliable and 
correct record of the proceedings of the Conventions was kept 
by him. Jefferson's Secretary of State for the entire term of eight 
years of his Presidential service, he was through life the trusted 
friend of the sage and seer of Mouticello. 



9 

The second wa,r with Great Britain was agitated, declared, 
fought and finished during liis two terms, and the issue was consid- 
ered triumpliant by liis own nation and by the world. He was a 
most careful ruler, and was even thought to be a timid one, by cer- 
tain dashing and demonstrative spirits, but he left behind him the 
reputation of an honest, wise and competent Chief Magistrate. 

Y. 1817 — 1825. James Monroe was elected and served his 
two terms during what was designated as "the era of good feeling " 
between the old and contending parties, but at the same time it 
was marked with a general depression of trade, manufactures and 
general business, consequent upon the exhausting effects ot the 
war. Mr. Monroe was in the public service, either in a military' or 
civil capacity almost constantly from the breaking out of the 
Revolutionary war. 

He entered the American arni}^ at the age of 18, studied law with 
Jefferson, with whom he continued in the closest intimacy until 
Jefferson's decease. He was considered a safe and a successful, but 
not a brilliant statesman, and he had graduated at the feet of his 
two eminent predecessors. 

Thus far the Presidents had come from the active Revolutionary 
generation. Each of them had shared in the first struggle with 
Great Britain, and had borne a prominent part in it; some of them 
were distinguished in tlie second contest with that power. They 
were all soldiers who had fought side by side in ' the cause of man- 
kind," which the American Revolution has always been truly 
called. They had battled for more than the mere " Independence " 
of tlie country from Great Britain. They had founded and reared 
an entirely new system of government, 

YI. 1825-1829. With Mr. Monroe, the old Revolutionary gener- 
ation went out of tlie Presidency, and in 1825, John Quincy 
Adams, son of the second President, was inaugurated the sixth. 
His capacity to perform the duties of the office, we suppose has 
never been seriously called in question. The companion and pupil 
of his father while he was a Foreign Minister, he learned the ways 
of diplomacy', and of the Chief Magistracy, as less favored men 
learn the profession by which they expect to gain their livelihood, 
their fortune or their fame. 

He was the only one of all our Presidents, indeed, who had 
served an " apprenticeship " in the art and mystery of governing a 
great nation, Tliat he was proud of the rare distinction of having 
2 



U) 

l)C;en promoted to ihe exulted pltice his tiitliev had occupied, there 
can be no doubt, and howcA'^er men may think of the accident 
or the manner of his advancement, or of the remarkable and 
startling change of views that followed ; none will dispute his 
acquaintance with the details of the duties he was called upon to 
perform, nor of his fair intentions to perform his duty well. 

VII. 1829-183*7. In 1828, after a political campaign of unprece- 
dented bitterness, which had lasted for four years, Andrew 
Jackson was elected to the Presidency, and installed in office in 
1829. He had been a law Judge aud a Senator of the United 
States. He had, during his entire life, taken an active interest in 
public affairs, as his letters to President Monroe and other writings 
and doings of his, abundantly show. But to this must be added the 
fame and prestige of a most successful military career, which 
marked him as one emiuentl}^ fitted to be a ruler of men. His 
official period was signalized by tlie most exciting political discus- 
sions wherein he was alwa3'S a central figure, showing that he was 
entitled to the honors of a successful leader in peace as well as in 
war. 

VIII. 183^-1841. The successor of the nervous and indomitable 
Jackson, was Martin Van Buren, an aspiring and an untiring- 
politician, 

"Who scorned dehghts and lived laborious days," 

in the pursuit of a laudable ambition. He was an accomplished 
professor of the science of government, who fought his way inch 
by inch to the highest place in the people's gift. He was a wary 
and a careful manager, who knew his own purposes and the reasons 
for his decisions, and was not to be easily turned aside from them. 
He retired from office, and no just reproach could be cast upon his 
name or official conduct 

IX. 1841. William Henry Harrison was President for but a 
single month. It is not probable that he ever aspired to the Presi- 
dency, or had prepared his mind by thought and study for its great 
responsibilities. He had neither opportunity, nor inducement nor 
suggestion to do so ; indeed, as all his predecessors had from asso- 
ciation or from the concurrence of favorable circumstances, or as in 
the case of Jackson an ardent, loud and long continued popular 
attachment. It was the misfortunes, or unpopularity, or ill-luck of 
Van Buren and his own negative qualities, in contrast with the 
positive qualities of Gen. Jackson, that made Gen. Harrison Presi- 
dent. But the office hunters worried the mild, 'brave man to death 
in a sinolo month. 



11 

X. 1841-1845. John Tyler, elected Vice-President on tlie ticket 
with Harrison, became his constitutional successor, l^ike all of his 
predecessors except Washington, Jackson and Harrison, he had 
been reared to politics and state-craft. He had been Governor of 
Virginia, and a Senator from that State, and had held other im- 
portant public positions. He may have dreamed of becoming 
President before he was nominated for Vice-President, bnt it is 
not likely that he even did that. He served a stormy term, a 
faithful, honest, but much abused oflicer. A little too anxious 
perhaps for a renomination, but retiring with dignity and lionor, 
if not without chagrin at the failure of the good luck which had 
made him President. 

XI. 1845-1849. James Knox Polk was elected to the Presidency 
in 1844. His nomination was somewhat unexpected, perhaps to 
those who had no idea of voting for any candidate of his party, 
but he had been successful in political life, had large experience as 
Governor of Tennessee, and Speaker of the House. He pleased his 
party as candidate and justified their fondest expectations as Chief 
Magistrate, surrounding himself with an able Cabinet of Coun- 
sellors. The war with Mexico was successfully fought under his 
Administration, and a rich empire added to our territorial domin- 
ions. 

XII. 1849-1850. Zachary Taylor, the twelfth President, owed 
his nomination entirely to his great military fame, and his election 
to the fact that the party opposed to him had two candidates in the 
field. He never had any desire or opportunity to become ac- 
quainted with the civil affairs of government, inasmuch as he was 
a soldier "in the tented field" from his youth, and nothing but a 
soldier by nature, education and training. He, too, like Harrison, 
it is thought, was a prey to the voracious and ignoble arni}^ of 
office hunters who beseiged him continually for the fifteen months 
that he held |)Ower. There was little to create excitement or call 
fortli much political anxiety during his term, save the " wild hunt " 
for office. His fame and reputation were therefore unaffected by 
his brief possession of the Presidental Office. 

XIII. 1850-1853. Millard Fillmore became the constitutional 
successor of President Taylor. Very exciting (Questions arose 
during his term of office, which he treated with dignity, if not with 
statesmanship. Mr. Fillmore, like Mr. Tyler, his forerunner in the 
way of becoming President, not by election, but by constitutional 
prescripti(m, had liardly expected tliat he would ever attain that 



12 

much coveted position. But he acquitted himself well, as a con- 
scientious, sensible man, thoroughly acquainted with legislation and 
general political principles might be expected to do. 

XIV. 1853-1851. With the retiracy of Mr. Fillmore, Franklin 
Pierce came to the Presidency. He enjoyed considerable local 
popularity; had been Governor, Senator, &c., and was always a pop- 
ular man in his State and partj^ He had sufficient political 
sagacity and experience to surround himself with competent 
advisors, and his Administration was successful. 

XV. 185*7-1861. It must be said of James Buchanan, that he 
long and persistently aspired to the Presidency, and that duriiig his 
protracted period of public service he endeavored to qualify him- 
self by all the means at his command, (and they were abundant ) for 
the performance of the functions of the Chief Executive. He had 
been Congressman, Senator, Secretar}^ of State, ^Minister to Eng- 
land, &c., &c. 

It will not be disputed, we suppose, that Mr, Buchanan was a 
man whose qualifications and experience might warrant him in 
seeking for the Presidency, without the blame of presumption. His 
Presidential term was full of perplexity and trouble, and the 
very opposite opinions held as to the merits of his official conduct, 
will probably never be reconciled, at least for years to come. 

XVI. 1861-1865. Like the nominations of Polk, Pierce and 
Taylor, the nomination of Abraham Lincoln was unexpected ; the 
result, perhaps, of envy^ which even more than ingy-atitude, is the 
ruling vice in Republics. Accident favored him as much in his 
election as it did in his nomination. The dissensions of the oppos- 
ing party made him President, although in a minority of a million 
on the popular vote. And in regard to his Administration, like that 
of Mr. Buchanan's, the minds ot men are not likely soon to be 
harmonized. 

XVII. 1865-1869. The cold-blooded and cruel assassination of 
President Ijincoln, made Andrew Johnson the constitutional Presi- 
dent. It is not probable that he would ever have been taken up for 
President, by either party, although he had acted with both. The 
sio-nal failure of his attempt to build up a following for himself 
that would re-elect him, proves this. His practical knowledge of 
political affairs would have enabled him to do inucli good in the 
settlement of the absorbing questions that followed the war, if, 
instead of striking out for the gratification of his selfish personal 



13 

ambition, he had devoted himself to " Reconstruction " ([uestions 
alone. Besides this, he was very unjustly treated by tlie majority 
in Congress. 

XVIII. 1869-187Y Ulysses S. Grant, the present incumbent, 
is the eighteenth and last on the list. Some epigrammatic writer 
observes that '• no prominent man in a civil war, ever gains so much 
fame or fortune as he that ends it." To President Grant was 
accorded with singular unanimity, the credit of triumphantly conclu- 
ding our late civil war. To him Gen. Lee surrendered the sword of 
the Confederac}', and other fortuitous events conspired to make him 
successful in a canvass for the Presidency. The war lasted four 
years, and Johnson's term lasted four years longer. During most of 
that time Grant never remotely imagined that, he would become 
President. 

His nomination was as unexpected, one year before it was made, 
as any event ever was in the life of any man however favored by 
fortune. The writer, who expects nothing personally beneficial to 
himself, from any President, ma}' be pardoned for expressing the 
the opinion that no man ever filled the Presidential chair, who had 
less natural capacit}^, or less preparation for the high position. As 
he did not originally aspire to it, he does not seem to feel under 
obligations to do an3'tliing to fit himself for its duties. His Admin- 
istration will, we feel assured, be considered an unsatisfactory one, 
not only to those who are opposed to him in jiolitics, but to those 
who are measurably or wholly non-partisan, and even to those who 
elected him. 

II. 

In considering how our eighteen Presidents were elected, it may 
be said that Washington, Adams and JefiJerson were chosen candi- 
dates, the first, by unamimous popular indication and consent, and 
the second and third as the acknowledged leaders of the parties 
that put them forward. 

There is no reason why either of these might not have looked 
forward to the acquisition of the Presidential office. But it is not 
charged that either of the three intrigued for the position, or prac- 
ticed the arts of flattery or demagoguism to obtain it The nom- 
inations of Madison and Monroe were made by the Administrations 
in power, and by their supporters in Congress, which last arranged 
many things, as was alleged, by a secret j^arty conil)iii:iti()n called 



u 

"King Caucus" by those of the opposing party, and even by tliosc 
of its own party who did not And favor in the e3^es of that same 
" King." 

It seemed to be the idea of these caucus managers that men who 
were near the Executive, generally the Secretary of State, we be- 
lieve, would make safe Presidents, and they alleged that in main- 
taining that sort of succession they were keeping in the " line of 
safe precedents ; " but in 1824 the outsiders grew impatient, when 
William H. Crawford, President Monroe's Secretary of State, was 
put forth, as had been customary by the mysterious " Caucus." 
Then other candidates stepped boldly forth, or were brought for 
ward with whatever force or unction their friends could give them. 

Among those were Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson and John 
Quincy Adams. No election Avas had by the electors chosen, 
and the choice was to be made by the Lower House of Congress, 
from the three highest on the list presented by the Electoral Col- 
leges. The result of the action of the House was, to say the least 
of it, amazing and unexpected — and resulted in the election of 
Adams, the lowest on the list. It was accomplished by the union 
of the friends of Mr. Clay with those of Mr. Adams, and Mr. 
Clay took office under Mr. Adams as Secretary of State. The 
won ^er excited by this result was produced by the fact that for ten 
years previous to the election, Clay and Adams had been personal 
enemies, having differed about certain provisions in the Treat}" of 
Ghent, in the formation of which both took part. And although 
the vote of Mr. Clay's State, Kentucky, was cast for Mr. Adams, 
not one solitary man voted for him at the polls. 

The election of Gen. Jackson, in 1828, who was tlie highest of 
the three voted for by the House in 1824. was no doubt secured in 
a large measure by the unlooked-for coalition of the friends of 
Adams and Cla}'. Adams was his opponent in the natural course 
of events, perhaps endorsed by a kind of caucus nomination. But 
we hear no more of Presidential or other nominations by caucus. 
In 1832 President Jacksoii was renominated by a body of dele- 
gates, which was the first of the National Conventions by wdiich 
Presidential nominations have since been made very generally by 
all parties. 

It may be said that after the nomination of Mr. Van IJuren, in 
1836, the selections made by all parties in their Conventions for 
President and Vice-President were very largely controlled by acci- 
dent or expediency. It was tacitly, if not openly, conceded that 



15 

Vim Btireii would be Jackson's ' successor, and the strange bitter- 
ness with which this expected result was denounced by his enemies 
long- before the time of the latter's retirement from office, had 
something to do with securing the succession to Mr. Van Buren. 
The nomination of Gen. Harrison in 1840, for President, and John 
T^'ler for Vice-President, was one of the first instances where party 
necessitj^ dictated the exclusion of the men best fitted and most 
thought of for those high places. Clay, Webster, and others of the 
leaders of the Whig part}^ who had borne the heat and burden of 
battle, were put aside for Harrison, so that success might be better 
assured. 

And again, in 1848, those great men were ignored because Gen. 
Ta^'lor witli his fi'eshl}^ gathered Mexican laurels, it was supposed, 
and correctly, too, would be tlie man most likely to succeed. So 
also in 1852, Gen. Scott was preferred to the accepted and compe- 
tent political leaders of the W^hig party, and was another exjiedi- 
ency candidate. So, too, in the Democratic party, Silas Wright 
and Gen. Cass, who had undergone all the toil and reaped all the 
censure that the highest party leadership is sure to encounter, 
were put aside in 184 4 for Polk, and in 1852 for Pierce. In all 
these unexpected nominations by both of the leading parties, expe- 
diency was regularly alleged as the motive for making them, but 
it is very likely that envy and jealousy^ which, as before hinted, 
are perhaps more the especial vices of republics than even ingrati- 
tude itself, which, since the Grecian States were in the habit of 
ostracising their greatest and best public servants, has been pro- 
verbially the vice of republics. 

The decease of Harrison after one month's service made John 
Tyler President. He was made most keenl}^ to feel that he owed 
his elevation to a sad dispensation of Providence, and continual 
contention with his old party associates rendered his term a very 
uncomfortable one ; besides, he had set his heart on being elected 
to a second term, and in laboring to that end perhaps did not 
accomplish what he might have done otherwise. 

It really seemed that both he and Andrew Johnson, who suc- 
ceeded to the Presidency after the foul murder of Mr. Lincoln, 
and who, like T^der, labored unceasingly to build up a party that 
would re-elect him — it seemed, we say, as if they both wondered 
why they were not nominated for the chief office in the first place, 
and were anxious to see the original mistake corrected by a direct 
election. 



Mr. Fillmore, who was another of the Presidents who obtained 
his honors by constitutional sanction, or accident, as the captious 
and censorious will insist, it is not ungenerous to say, was very 
much more fit to be President than was Gen. Taylor, whom he 
succeeded. It has never been charo-ed, we believe, that he improp- 
erly used his official station to secure his re-election. 

III. 

We have thus briefly epitomized the Presidents from the adop- 
tion of the Constitution in 1188. President Grant, whose term 
expires in March, 1817, will, it is probable, remain in office until 
the close of the centennial year. Have the monarchial rulers of 
Europe for the past century been personally as well qualified for 
their great offices? Have they been equal in talents and morals to 
our Chief Magistrates ? The answer must be substantially in the 
negative. With the exception of two or three, our Presidents have 
been men of unquestioned talents, and all of them of unimpeacha- 
ble personal character and private behavior. Washington, John 
Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Jackson, would have ranked as 
eminent men in an^^ age or in any country. Tlie rest, or nearly all 
of them, were above the average, although it may be truly said 
that the nomination and election of more than half of them was 
accomplished more nearl}^ as you draw numbers in a lottery, than 
as induced by clear indications of fitness, or of a popular sense of 
their high deserts. 

It now becomes necessary for the purpose in view to resort to 
the catalogue of sovereigns in Europe about the period of 1790, as 
quoted in the beginning of this paper, and extend the list down to 
the present time, in order to learn who were the contemporary rulers 
with our eighteen Presidents. 

The sovereigns of England for the century beginning in 1776 
have been four : George III., (1760-1820) ; George IV., (1820-1830); 
William IV., (1830 1837) ; Victoria, (1837 until the present time.) 
George III, who commenced his reign in 1760, was said to have 
been a young prince of unspotted reputation, who Byron said pos- 
sessed 

"That household virtue most uncommon," 

of constancy to a bad, ugly woman. He was religious, moral and 
in the higiiest degree temi)erate, and was actually, without regard 
to Byron's sneer, a model of domestic virtue ; but his intellect, 
never vigorous, gave w.^y in 1764. He had various returns of 



LI 

instinity until 18U), wlien 1k' linall}- rotirt'd IVoiu all pui'ticipatioii 
ill the artalrs of government, and George IV. was made Regent. 

In 1820 George IV. ascended the throne of England, and was 
perhaps the worst man that has ruled any Christian countr}' dur- 
ing the century-, and although it is said he egotistically st^ded him- 
self " the first gentleman of England,'' and although when young- 
was handsome and affable, he was ntterly and in every way unprin- 
cipled, and a shameless debauchee. 

William IV. was a frank, harmless sort of a man, with tolerable 
morals for a king, and with no ability to speak of. He was suc- 
ceeded by Victoria, Avho still reigns, and whose example as a sov- 
ereign, and whose domestic virtues entitle her to universal respect. 

In France Louis XVI. (1714-1793,) ascended the throne in 1774. 
He was a harmless man, and his fate was personally hard — but if 
the sins of his progenitors could have been fairly visited upon him, 
there were enough of them to make him liable for the terrible 
restitutions he had to make. Then followed Napoleon and his fel- 
low Consuls, and Napoleon as Emperor (1793-1814). It is fair to 
presume that every one has his opinions about a character so 
prominent, and can compare lain, for himself, with our Chief Mag- 
istrates. 

Napoleon I. was succeeded bv Louis XVIII. , (1814-1824,) who 
Avas a man of fair abilities and considerable learning. Charles X. 
(1824-1830,) succeeded his brother Louis XVIII, He was remark- 
able for nothing but his unbending devotion to the prerogatives of 
royalty, and to his proud and ancient family adherents who 
advised him so fatally. He was ousted by Louis Phillippe, (1830- 
1848,) who had been severely trained in tr3dng vicissitudes, and 
who was certainly a respectable sovereign and a man of exemplar}- 
private deportment. To him succeeded Napoleon III. (1848-1870,) 
who was a man of decided talents, who had l)een educated b}' 
others, and who had educated himself for a sovereign ruler. His 
ambition betrayed him into crimes and excesses which were perpe- 
trated against his political competitors — but the masses of his 
countrymen had reason to be satisfied with his administration of 
affairs. Thiers and McMahon can only be regarded as Provincial 
Governors whose terms were never expected to continue long, and 
neither of whom can as yet be regarded as having a fixed status as 
rulers. The first is undoubtedly a statesman of many accomplish- 
ments ; the last an equally accomplished soldier, who owes his 
elevation to that circumstance alone. Leavino- out the Directorv 



18 

and the Consuls, and including Thiers and McMahon, France has 
had eight supreme rulers within the centur^^, all of whom, except- 
ing the three Bourbons, were remarkable men. 

Spain has been governed during the century by Charles 
IV. (1788-1808,) Joseph Bonaparte, (1808-1813,) Ferdinand 
VII. (1813-1833,) and Isabella II. (1883-1868). Since the 
constrained abdication of Isabella II., in 1868, Spain has 
had no really fixed government, but continually changing form 
under provisional governments, mock-monarchies, and mock- 
republics, in Avliich Prim, Victor Amadeus, or more properly 
the Duke of Aosta, Castellar, Serranno and others appear 
and disappear respective!}', until now we have Alfonso XII., 
son of Isabella, and Don Carlos disputing for the crown, and 
neither likely to obtain it permanently. Spain may be said to have 
had but four rulers during the century. 

Charles and Ferdinand were remarkable only for their imbecility 
and their vices, and deserve no further comment. Joseph Bona- 
parte might haA'e done very well if it had suited the English to let 
Mm alone. Isabella II. Avas compelled to abdicate on account of 
her shocking vices, and now lives in France. The mock-King 
Amadeus also retired in disgust after a short experience, and per- 
mitted the country to tr}^ conclusions between ultra-Republicanism 
and ultra-Legitimacy. 

Russia has had five sovereigns within the century, " Old Catha- 
rine," as Mr. Jefferson calls her, was the first, (1162-1196.) She 
was followed by Paul I., (1796-1801,) who was murdered. He was 
succeeded by Alexander I. (1801-1825;) he by Nicholas, (1825- 
1835 ]) and Nicholas by Alexander IF., (1855— still reigning.) There 
seems to have been a vast improvement in the character of the 
Russian autocrats since Catharine and Paul. Their successors 
have been men of decent lives and respectable personal behavior — 
much better than the average of absolute monarchs. 

In Prussia (Germany,) the greatest of the Fredericks, Frederick 
II. (1140-1786,) reigned in 1776. His successors have been : Fred- 
erick William II., (1786-1797) ; Frederick William III., (1797-1840) ; 
Frederick AVilliam IV. (1840-1861); and Wilhelni I. (1861— still 
reigning). All of these have been distinguished by somewhat 
similar qualities — all being warlike, economical, and ruling with 
absolute military sway. The present Emperor is one of the same 
sort as his predecessors, l)ut really onh- serves the ])urpose oi a lay 



19 

ligure in Jiisinarck's phiy of al)Solutisiii. Tliere has been no really 
brilliant man among them since Frederick the Great. 

It may seem almost impossible to make any parallel between the 
sovereigns here sketched and any of our Presidents — so ditlcrent is 
the mode of rearing and educating hereditary rulers, and the dif- 
ferent kind of education and experience on which our elective 
system compels us to depend. One thing, however, is certain, 
the personal habits and characters of our Presidents contrast very 
favorabl}^ with those of their royal contemporaries. It would 
seem that continence was a virtue hardly expected among kings 
and emperors, and was not absolutely required of all the queens 
and empresses. 

Drunkenness and gluttony among male rulers was not rare, and 
" Old Catharine " was celebrated for all kind of debaucheries. It 
is manifest, however, that from some cause, perhaps the more pre- 
carious tenure of their power, they behave much better personally 
than they formerly did — their morals are evidently improving — 
and it may be hoped that those who are born to thrones may come 
to believe that they have a large responsibility, and that they must 
not deliver themselves over solely to physical indulgence, as was 
the fashion a hundred ^^ears ago. 

In reviewing the list of our Presidents, the first five: Washing- 
ton, Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe, were chosen almost 
as a matter of course, and it is not likely that better selections 
could be made under any circumstances. 

Jackson and Harrison owed their elevation pa7'tly to their mili- 
tary titles and achievements ; Taylor and Grant owe their's entirely 
to their militar}^ reputations. The experiment of electing purely 
military men to the Presidency ought to end with Grant. Clearly, 
it is not safe to risk a repetition of such a rule as his. The elec- 
tion of John Quincy Adams was brought about by a most unex- 
pected coalition. Tyler and Fillmore came into power through 
the acts of Providence. All three of these were competent to ful- 
fill the duties of their oflice. Johnson, too, reached the Presidency 
through the shocking crime of an assassin. He was not wholly 
the man for the crisis, although he might have done worse, as he 
certainly might have done better. 

The accidents attending nominating Conventions conferred pow- 
er upon Polk, Pierce and Lincoln, to the exclusion of more 
eminent men, who seemed to be desired by the masses of the peo- 
ple, and designed as the best men for the olfice, and this is likely 



20 



iilways to be the case as lung as Conventions make nominations — 
for as alread^y remarked, Envy, Jealons3^ and Expedienc}^, Avill 
almost alwa^'S effect the defeat of the best and most eminent candi- 
dates. 

Van Buren and Buchanan had fair claims to their respective 
nominations and elections. They were competent, and each had 
supporters all over the Union. In selecting them no one was 
startled or mortified, as in the cases mentioned. 

And on the whole Ave are bound to conclude that if we do not 
fare any worse in the selection of our Presidents for the next hun- 
dred years than we have for the past century of our existence, we 
shall have reason to be thankful, and continue a patriotic prefer- 
ence for our own before any other existing form of government. 

The line of Presidential succession, with the cardinal historical 
points of the incumbents of the office, may be epitomized. By the 
subjoined it will be seen that Virginia has furnished precisely one- 
third of our Presidents, and that all but two, Lincoln and Grant, 
were born within the limits of one of the Original Thirteen Colo- 
nies: — 













Elec- 




Native 


Resid- 




BORN. 


DIED. 


ted. 


Served. 


of 


ed in 


Washington, 


Feb. 


22, 1732 


Dec. 


14, 1799 


1788 


8 yrs. 


Va. 


Va. 


Adams, 


Oct. 


19, 1735 


July 


4, 1826 


1796 


4 " 


Mass 


Mass 


Jefferson, . . . 


April 


2. 1743 


July 


4, 1826 


1800 


8 " 


Va. 


Va. 


Madison, 


Mar. 


16, 1751 


June 


28, 183t-3 


1808 


8 " 


Va. 


Va. 


Monroe, .... 


April 


2t<, 1758 


July 


4, 1831 


1816 


8 " 


Va. 


Va. 


Adams 


Julv 


11, 1767 


Feb 


23, 1848 


1824 


4 " 


Mass 


Mass 


Jackson, .... 


Mai-. 


15, 1767 


June 


8, 1845 


1828 


8 " 


s.c. 


Tenn 


Van Buren,.. 


Dec. 


6. 1782 


July 


24, 18h2 


1836 


4 " 


N.Y. 


N.Y. 


Harrison, . . . 


Feb. 


9, 1773 


April 


4, 1841 


1840 


1 month 


Va. 


Ohio 


Tyler 


Mar. 


29, 1790 


Jan. 


17, 1862 


1840 


3y. 11 mo 


Va. 


Va. 


Polk, 


Nov. 


'2, 1795 


June 


15, 1849 


1844 


4 yrs. 


N.C. 


Tenn 


Taylor, 


Nov. 


24, 1784 


July 


9, 1850 


1848 


1 yr. 4 mo 


Va. 


La. 


Fillmore. . . . 


Jan. 


7, 1800 


March 8, 1874 


1848 


2 y. 8 mo. 


N.Y. 


N.Y. 


Pierce 


Nov. 


28, 1804 


Oct. 


8, 1869 


1852 


4 yrs. 


N.H. N.H. 


Buchanan, . . 


April 


13, 1791 


.Tune 


1, 1868 


1856 


4 '> 


Pa. 


Pa. 


Lincoln, 


Feb. 


12, 18(19 


April 


15. 1865 


1860 


4y. l^mo 


Ky- 


111. 


Johnson, 


Dec. 


29, 1808 


July 


31, 1875 


1864 


3y. lu^m 


N. C. Tenn 


Grant, 


April 


27, 1822 


In Office. 


1868 




Ohiol 111. 



To complete this paper, we shall give in tabulated form, begin- 
ning with the government under the Continental Congress in 1776, 
the Presidents and the contemporaneous rulers in England, France, 
Spain, Prussia and Kussia, during each Presidential period, down 
to the present time. During the disturbed periods in France, and 
laterly in Spain, when there was no fixed government, for short 
periods the classification is not historicalh' exact, but is neverthe- 
less accurate enough for the object in view : — 



21 




o o 



^ OJ (D OJ a; 

-§ a a a a 

2 03 cj 05 rt 



^ ;<^ 125 ^ !^<!l<3<5<5 <1 



|_i|_| I— II— I I— I I— I I— II— I I— ii^tL K> p- P* P" 

HH S I— I I— I I— I 1—1 I— I I— I I— I 1—1 *— I 1— I HH (— I 1— I 






M 

& 


.1^ 


^ 


^^ ^ ^ 


^^ 


^^P^ 


^ 


^ 


^ 


^Ta 


1— 1 


t^ 




^ 


^ 




^^ 


.14 .ii!.:^: 


M 


^ 


/^ 


r^ a) <u 






"^ 


r^ 


'^ "^ r^ r^ 


r— r^ 


r— r^ r^ 


'C 


r^ 


r^ 








O 


a; 


<U 


q; O 4) OJ 


<u O 


<D CJ Oj 


OJ 


O 


0) 


oj r::: .'Z 


'^' 






















^^^?S 










Cl. ^ dn fc. 


^\^ 


ptJ FsH fiH 


P^ 


flH 


Px< 


P= 






' 


: : «.«^h-;m 


\-i h-l 








• 




• • 










■p. ^1-^ ^^ 


1—1 1—1 






















• • g S>> 


>> 












• • .*— 1 




t> 




f-* 


^'-^pqpq a a 




^ ,_; fc4 


,_; 


1— 1 


1—1 


1— 1 1— j h-i 


— 1 . ^- 1— 1 

03 . c3 k/l 

a CO a*^ 


'A 


1— 1 




1— 1 


a a 


1—1 1—1 1—1 


1— 1 


1— 1 


'"' 


1— 1 hH 1— 1 


ft 






ct 


t/3 I» _ _ 03 C3 




c3 rt C3 


r^ 


r^ 


03 


03 c3 c3 


.2 5.2 o 


111 
02 


03 




C3 


_3j ^ ^ ^ _a _c 


.3.9 


bell 
bell 

bell 


'3 


'a 


"« 
^ 


'« "3 "o 


rovis 
madt 
rovis 
Ifons 










^ ;^ O S « « 


0) (D 


OS c3 03 


03 


03 


03 


rt rf 03 




o 




O 


fM p2H 


— 1 1— 1 1— 1 


1—1 




1—1 




PH<f|fU<1 






|>^ o o o 



^ f> !> >< M !>d ^ 9 

g r-i ri ai M m Oh Ph 
;s^ .— .« ;-i ;h ^4 .^ .-h 

!^ i_i h3 3 o Ci-3 h:i 



J- a a 


rH 


a a a 


fT o o 


o 


coo 


m 


Zi V dJ 








.CO o o 


o 


o o o 














O 03 ci 


OS 


03 03 03 


^^^ 


^ 


i^^i;^ 



> 



S S KS G ;z;>>r-^ 



bC it) 

!-. ^ 

o o 



O 



o o a) o — •.- •.- •.- 
^cbcbctc^ o o o 

OOOOtt^ii; cj o 



O C o 



> ;^ t> ;> ^;>;> > 



■^ .= 



4^ 

<3l-5 



2 p pq 
II 5 



CO , - 

03 l^'o 



o 2 « 

^ a p 



s 


'o 


O 

CO 


o 


o 


^ 














ca 


1-5 i-j 





i.^ 


T-i CT. 


£-^ 


lO 


C^ l~ 




iO 


Ci 


CO 


t- 


■^"lo cT 




C5 


oo 




<>» 


c^j CO 


'^ 


-* 


■* 


lO 


o 




c- 


t- 


00 CO 

I-H r-' 


00 


00 

-I-H 


00 00 
T-l -r-l 


00 


00 


00 


00 


00 


GK, 00 OC^ 


1 


1 

CJ 


ri^ 


1 


1 


1 1 


1 
I— 


1 


1 

to 




ci 


iiJ..; 






ci o 






OJ OQ 


CO 


tH 










I— 


t- 


t-GO 


00 


1—1 


00 oo 


00 


(X' 






-1 





i3 a .a 03 
6 



VICE-PRESIDENTS. 



The following constitutes the list of Vice-Presidents, with their 
nativit}^, time of birth, term of office and decease. 

1st. George Washington, President. 

John Adams, Vice-President from 1T89 to 1*791 ; elected to 
the Presidenc}^ 

2d. John Adams, President. 

Thomas Jefferson, Vice-President from 1*791 to 1801 ; elected to 
the Presidency. 

3d. Thomas Jefferson, President. 

First term, Aaron Burr, Vice-President, from 1801 to 1805; born 
in New Jersey, Feb., 1*756 ; died in 1830. 

Second term. George Clinton, Vice-President from 1805 to 1809; 
l)orn in New York, 1139 ; died April, 1812. 

4th. James Madison, President. 

First term, George Clinton, Vice-President from 1809 to 1812; 
died in office. 

Second term, Elbridge Gerr}^, Vice-President from 1813 to 1814; 
died in office ; born in Massachusetts, in 1744 ; died Nov., 1814. 

5th. James Monroe, President. 

Daniel D. Tompkins, Vice-President from 1817 to 1825 ; born in 
New York, 1774 ; died June, 182?. 

6th. John Quincy Adams, President. 

John C. Calhoun, Vice-President from 1825 to 1829; born in 
South Carolina, March, 1792; died March, 1850. 

7th. Andrew Jackson, President. ' 

First term, John C. Calhoun, Vice-President from 1829 to 1832 
in which jear he resigned. 

Second term, Martin Van Buren, Vice-President from 1833 to 
1837 ; elected to the Presidency. 

8th. Martin Van Buren, President 

Richard M. Johnson, Vice-President from 18 >7 to 1841; born in 
Kentucky in 1780 ; died in 1850. 



24 

yth. William H. Harrison, I'resident. 

John Tyler, Vice-President until Harrison's death, whom he 
succeeded to the Presidency. 

loth. James K. Polk, President. 

George M. Dallas, Yice-President from 1845 to 1849 ; born in 
New York, July, 1^92 ; died Dec. 1864. 

11th. Zacharj^ Taylor. President. 

Millard Fillmore, Yice-President until Taylor's death, whom he 
succeeded to the Presidenc}^ 

12th. Franklin Pierce, President. 

William R. King, Yice-President; died during his first year in 
office ; born in North Carolina, in 1786 ; died in 1853. 

13th. James Buchanan, President. 

John C. Breckenridge, Yice-President from 1857 to 1861 ; born 
in Kentucky in 1821 ; died in 1875. 

14tli. Abraham Lincoln, President. 

First term, Hanibal Hamlin, Yice-President from 1861 to 1865 ; 
born in Maine, August, 1809 — still living. 

Second term, Andrew Johnson, Yice-President until Lincoln's 
assassination, when he succeeded to the Presidency. 

15th. Ulysses S. Grant, President. 

First term, Schuyler Colfax, Yice-President from 1869 to 1873; 
born in New York, Max'cli, 1823 — still living. 

Second term, Henry Wilson, Yice-President from 1873 to 1875; 
died in office; born in New Hampshire, Feb., 1812; died Nov, 22, 
1875. 

Unlike the Presidents, but few of the Yice-Presidents came from 
Virginia — onl}^ two of the eighteen. Three — John Adams, Thomj>s 
Jefferson and Martin Van Buren, rose from the Yice-Presidencj<^to 
the Presidency by election ; and three — John Tyler, Millard Fill- 
more and Andrew Johnson, rose to the office through the death of 
the President. Four — George Clinton, Elbridge Gerry, William R. 
King and Henry Wilson, died in office. One — John C. Calhoun, 
resigned in consequence of political disagreement with the Presi- 
dent, Andrew Jackson. Two — Hanibal Hamlin and Schuyler Col 
fax are still living. Not a single President except the present 
incumbent, U. S. Grant, survives. 



0^ 

cd 
QQ 



UJ 




o 

o 
c 

CD 



GREAT REMEDY, 




FOR INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL USE. 

We challenge the worlU to produce a remedy which will prove by actual test a more si)eely, 
certain, and effectual cure for all pains, of whatever form, external or internal, acute or chronic, 
deep seated or otherwise, than 



ifii si4iiS. QT mmm 



It will effect a speedy cure in all cases of Headache, Neuralgia, Diarrhcea, etc , and especially 
Rheumatism. It cures pain almost instantly, and this is the grand secret of its success, for in 
hundreds of cases where this i)reparaTion has been used it has saved life, after science and skill 
have been completely baffled, all hopes abandoned, and the patient's life despaired of. Try a 
Bottle. If it does not cure you we will refund you your money. Our motto : 



NO CURE, NO PAY. 



SOLD BY ALL ORUG^G^ISTS. 






1^ Agents wauted in every Coaiity in the United States and Canada. Send 
for Circular containing full particulars. 







( 










a 



Ij"^!!!!!!! m 



^ll> 



!li 



145 WOOD STREET, COR. VIRGIN AY. 




WIS 3 















A^-^ 

C*" % 














^0 -^^ " 






♦^ "^ ^° ^ •"» <^^ *=J«. *T;i»* ^C 




